AN UNDERCOVER investigation has revealed the horrific treatment of horses by workers at a Nantwich abattoir.

Two slaughtermen at the Red Lion in Broomhall have now had their licences revoked by the Food Standards Agency after secret footage captured horses being beaten, stunned in front of one another and left to suffer instead of being put down.

The investigation, which took place over eight weeks, was carried out by animal welfare group Hillside Animal Sanctuary and revealed by Sky News at the weekend.

Investigators at Hillside installed hidden cameras at the abattoir and filmed each stage of the slaughtering process. Sanctuary founder Wendy Valentine told the Chronicle they had been ‘totally shocked’ by what they uncovered.

She added: “At the sanctuary we have 2,000 animals in total but about 700 horses, ponies and donkeys and in the last year alone we have rescued about 300 of these.

“We are just totally shocked by the nature of what was happening, it’s very horrifying.”

Hillside said it captured the footage over a period of eight weeks to stop the abattoir claiming it was a ‘one-off incident’.

On several occasions the footage captures more than one horse in the stun box at the same time, with one case where there were three.

Under the Welfare of Animals Act 1995, horses should not be slaughtered in sight of one another because of the distress it causes them.

The footage also shows a slaughterman continually beating a horse with a stick and in another incident a horse was hit with a rope.

Injured horses were also left to suffer and lay untreated overnight instead of being put down immediately.

In perhaps the most sickening part of the film, a stunned horse which has been tied upside down before being bled appears to be coming round.

The horses, which range from former pets to race horses, are destined for European meat markets.

In a statement the Food Standards Agency said that after viewing the footage it immediately withdrew the licences of the slaughtermen featured in the film, meaning they are longer allowed to slaughter animals.

The FSA also said it was reviewing the footage and carrying out further investigations with a view to a potential prosecution.

Craig Kirby, head of approvals and veterinary advice at the FSA, added: “I was shocked by the footage and that is why we took immediate action to make sure the individuals involved could not continue to slaughter animals.

“The FSA takes animal welfare at slaughter very seriously, and we will always investigate and take action when we see breaches of the legislation.”

Two petitions, with a total of more than 1,000 signatures, have now been set up calling for the Red Lion to be shut down completely.

Hillside Animal Sanctuary is also calling for the Food Standards Agency to fully review the footage taken at the abattoir, with a view to prosecuting, and has already received more than 5,000 signatures of support.

Wendy said some local people she had spoken to during the investigation had been shocked to learn that the abattoir even existed.

“It’s all cloaks and daggers with that place,” she added.

“There’s very little movement during the day, everything happens at night because they know that people don’t like it.”

The Red Lion Abattoir has been unavailable for comment when contacted by the Chronicle, but in a statement to Sky News a spokesman said: “In attendance at The Red Lion Abattoir are three full-time food standards officers comprising of an official veterinarian and full-time meat hygiene inspectors throughout production.”

The statement also said the incidents were ‘not the norm, but of an isolated nature’ and they had taken disciplinary action against the individual featured in the film.

The statement continued: “I agree horses should individually enter the stunning area and most certainly not three at a time.

“However, small horses and ponies having spent years together as companions are difficult to separate. Horse lovers would understand that.

“My opinion and that of other veterinarians is it is better to keep those types together to reduce the stress, providing swift dispatch is achieved.”

The abattoir also insisted to Sky News that the meat was not part of the recent supermarket scandal in which horse meat was found in some burgers.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “The footage is shocking and upsetting to watch. With the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 in mind, we have concerns that horses appear to be in the stunning pen at the same time rather than individually as the law requires.

“We also have concerns about some of the animals that appear to be injured. We have requested a copy of the unedited footage with a view to investigating.”